He'll be in Arizona for Wednesday's VIZIO Fiesta Bowl, but Boise State offensive coordinator Mike Sanford's regular spot is in a booth back home, high atop Albertsons Stadium. His perch overlooks the blue turf that has become a signature of the Broncos' perennially successful program. It also hovers directly above the area that evokes the gritty memories of Boise State's powerful climb, one that represents the work that has formed the backbone of all its success.
The bleachers.
Sanford still remembers dreaded conditioning sessions on those bleachers from his time as a Boise State quarterback early last decade. There were countless gut-wrenching sprints that heard sneakers clang off those aluminum seats. Use of the steps -- the more manageable way up -- was not allowed.
"The upper decks are extremely steep," he says. "It's a full stride length to get up one bleacher, and then there are about 27 more of those to go. It's 103 degrees with the sun beating down on you and the coaches yelling from the top. It's a rite of passage for every Boise State football player."
They're known as "deck days" around the Broncos' program, and they still exist in all their excruciating glory. After graduating in 2005, Sanford returned to Boise State as a coach this season, so he had a first-hand look at one of the iconic training rituals that links generations of Bronco football.
"It brought back some not-so-pleasant memories," he laughs. "I saw the misery players were going through, because I'd actually been in their shoes 12 years earlier."
Almost two decades after its initial push into college football's top division, the hard-working machine that is Boise State continues churning out success with the same blue-collar formula that sparked its ascent. And on Wednesday, the Broncos return to the Fiesta Bowl, the spot of their most famous glory (see Statue of Liberty, an 43-42 overtime win against Oklahoma in 2007), so it's only natural to examine the formula behind their consistent achievements.
The recipe for constant success
Dirk Koetter, Dan Hawkins, Chris Petersen and now Bryan Harsin have coached Boise State since 1998, and all have won at least 72 percent of their games (the latter three have won at least 83 percent of them). The Broncos' 11-2 record here in 2014 marks a return to top-level standing a year after an 8-5 hiccup in 2013, which may have served as a wake-up call for the program.
Defensive coordinator Marcel Yates, a former cornerback at Boise State who's now in his second stint on the Broncos' coaching staff, names one constant factor behind the program's consistency.
"Discipline," he says. "We've always preached the little things here, week in, week out. Going to class, going to study hall, going to meetings, doing things the right way."
Eight members of Boise State's current coaching staff -- including Harsin -- were once Broncos players, and that link to the past has developed a theme of continuity within the program. This motif is perhaps best exemplified by strength and conditioning coach Jeff Pitman, who walked on to earn a scholarship at Boise State in 1988 before returning to lead the program's industrious preparation efforts -- the ones highlighted by deck days.
"He's a farm boy," Sanford says. "He's the quintessential tough guy. He reminds everybody of what this place is about. It's not about really cool Nike gear and jerseys. It's about striving to physically dominate opponents, and earning the right to do so in the offseason. I think we have one of the most challenging offseason programs in college football."
Several Bronco coaches allude to a "chip on the shoulder" mentality that Pitman's conditioning has helped nurture. This is a Boise State staple that seems to have fueled so many Bronco runs in years past, and it's a sentiment that still motivates players heading into yet another major opportunity on the national stage, this time against Pac-12 foe Arizona.
"Boise State is still doubted," star running back Jay Ajayi says. "We're still looked down upon a little bit. Now it's even more [of an opportunity for us] because there's this big thing about the Power 5 and the Group of Five. There's a bigger divide between the two types of schools. I think this is a great opportunity, being a Group of 5 school, to show we're just as good as the Power 5 schools. It's an opportunity for us to show Boise State's brand of football."
This brand seems to be rooted in the program's firm links to the past, which the Broncos constantly strive to use as a motivator for future success. In fact, Harsin brought a frequently used mantra to Boise State that encapsulates this very effort in six words: "Embrace the Past, Attack the Future."
The next future item to attack happens to be the Fiesta Bowl, the very game that delivered the most celebrated moments of the Broncos' past. For Sanford, this symbolic connection is special because it represents and helps illustrate the essence and appeal of his alma mater.
"A lot of the guys on our staff were part of the program earlier," Sanford explains. "They did some of the heavy lifting in building it to the crescendo of the 2006-07 year that turned Boise State into a national brand, and that's why there's a special connection here. It's a great place for young, exciting coaches to try to come in -- and come back -- to make their mark. It's a good place to live, win, and it's a town that supports football."
A new age of national exposure
With success and the resulting attention, Boise State coaches have noticed changes on the recruiting trail.
"We've gone from the team with just a blue field to a school that has a good football team," Yates says. "I don't get the 'Are you in Iowa?' questions from recruits anymore. No, we're in Idaho, and recruits know that now."
Offensive line coach Scott Huff, also a former Boise State player, is in his ninth year on the Broncos' staff, and he notices this difference in visibility on the recruiting trail. He says the program's success has presented a new challenge when it comes to maintaining the workmanlike attitude that has served as its foundation.
"The good: We may be able to get a kid we really want a little easier," Huff says. "The bad: We better be really sure that we want that kid. We need to be sure that he fits our program. Because with success, kids are receptive to [our recruiting pitch], where maybe 10 years ago, they weren't as much. Guys want to come here now."
That's forcing Boise State to look long and hard at the identity that has brought the program so much success already. So that they can maintain prosperity moving forward, the Broncos are constantly trying to zero in on the exact factors that have made them effective. The next test in this constant challenge of continuation comes against Arizona, and then the cycle will continue into recruiting season.
“It’s about finding the type of guy for this team that we've had in the program," Huff says "It's about the culture, the lineage. We're making sure that the guys who come here want to buy into that. They're embracing what happened in the past, but they’re all about moving forward trying to make this place better."
And after all of the fanfare of the Fiesta Bowl and recruiting season, that effort will plod forward in the Idaho summer, with torturous sprints up the hot, aluminum bleachers of the upper deck.
